The Curse of A Lifetime

Chapter 33

SARAH

I walked past the red and blue lights as the man in the wheelchair was getting dropped off at the entrance to the movie theater. Two more blocks and I will be at the bus stop.

My feet hurt from the miles and miles of uphill walking I just did, but it will be worth it once I am in bed. The soft lush sheets are calling my name.

A woman in a yellow sundress is whistling to the young man on the bench next to the stop. She is trying to get his attention. I ignore the feeling to talk to him as soon as I pass them. The exhaustion is really kicking me in the ass.

My money is on the dude in the red baseball cap to walk on the bus first, then the young man, and then me. I slowly make a stop and rest my hands on the side railing off of the sidewalk. Eyes gaze at me, "excuse me, did you say something?"

The young man stares at my ragged breathing chest before I shake my head no. He turns back around and looks at his phone for entertainment.

I didn't want to tell him it was his dead wife. The bus is spotted a quarter mile down and is certainly taking its sweet time getting here. I had just made it.

Just as predicted, the man in the red cap stepped up to the curb, bus doors open, and he is on. Next, the young man motions for me to get on, but I shake my head no. He steps up, using his hand to give him a boost, while I take a long stride up the bus stairs.

Walking all the way into the back of the bus, I sit down on the last brown seat. Sighing once I am on, the woman in the yellow sundress whistles.

The headlights of the small town bus reflect off the sign in front of us and blind me. Roaring to life, the bus moves into town. I get off of the bus on the corner street near the school and take out my phone. Two hours and twenty minutes walk back to my house.

I shrug my phone in my pocket and play some music. I attach the headphones to my phone ans plop them on the side of my head.

Help, I am lost...

But I remember you...

With the warmer spring days coming, I didn't see the need to wear a sweater. I take it off, careful not to ruin the song, and put it in my bag.

April showers bring May flowers, is a stupid, but accurate saying. The smell of rain hits my nostrils as I peer up to the sky. Even though it is not Summer yet, I can see the sun slowly rising. The stars are going away and the moon is slightly over the tree line.

Don't come back...

It won't end well...

I gave myself some time to think by walking home. Brushing off the nagging feeling to call someone to give me a ride, I kept trucking down the road.

Yesterday, my dad told me James was going home from the hospital. I am happy for him, really. It is going to be a long recovery for him, for sure. However, there is still an elephant in the room that needs to be cleared. James still has no idea what happened, his parents told my parents he had no memory of that happening. When Carter and I spoke to him in the hospital he remembered what had happened, sort of.

But I wish you tell me...

Carter, his lips like cotton candy. Soft, smooth, and delicious. I can still feel where he had last touched me. Tucking my hands in his sweatpants that I begged him to let me wear, the road started to thin out. Husky rain clouded my vision with ecstasy.

A small stray cat pronounced its way onto the road next to me. I could tell it was not a kitten, but it looked scrawny and injured from where I stood.

"Here, kitty," I squatted on the side of the road and placed my hand out for it to smell. How could it have survived the winter?